Industry Relations
The USC School of Pharmacy provides a unique environment for developing and commercializing technology. The only private pharmacy school located on a major health sciences campus, the School is entrepreneurial, small and nimble, with access to experts from related disciplines throughout the university and beyond.
The School maintains the capacity, expertise, infrastructure and drive needed to foster mutually beneficial collaborations with our industry partners. The USC School of Pharmacy and our research faculty have proven track records and tangible results working with established and startup biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies of all sizes, including Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Benefit Design Institute and Columbia Laboratories Inc.
Without the restrictions of a state institution, the USC School of Pharmacy can extend support to companies far beyond serving as a contract research organization. Our faculty can offer high-end feedback to help design a research protocol to meet your specific goals and take your efforts to an even high level of success. Each agreement is designed to fit the needs of our partner and to encourage the translation of research into marketable products.
We also draw from a wealth of university-wide resources to support our industry partners—from the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation to the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering.
To shepherd industry partners through the collaboration process and to ensure your objectives are met, the School of Pharmacy maintains a dedicated research office staffed by those with their own extensive background in laboratory research. Contact research@pharmacy.usc.edu to learn more.
“Many of the great breakthroughs in the life sciences occur at the nexus of academic and industry partnership. The USC School of Pharmacy’s entrepreneurial nature and breadth of intellectual and physical resources make this an ideal place for external collaboration and innovation.”
Sarah Hamm-Alvarez
Associate Dean for Research Affairs
Research highlights
From visualizing exactly how therapeutics interact with tumors to developing novel approaches for the treatment of recurrent and resistant cancers, USC Pharmacy faculty continue to push the frontiers of discovery to combat cancer.
A two-time NIH Merit Award winner, Dr. Shih won international acclaim for discovering how the brain enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO) affects behavior. Her research holds promise for treating aggression, depression, alcohol abuse, obesity, autism and schizophrenia.
Is there a connection between menopause and the development of Alzheimer’s disease?
Two-thirds of those afflicted with Alzheimer’s are women, and Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, has found a key link between brain health at menopause and the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease onset 20 years later.
An expert in chemical genetics – the science of altering gene function using (transient) small molecules instead of (permanent) genetic engineering – Dr. Olenyuk is seeking new therapeutic treatments for cancer, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and more.
Alcohol abuse and dependence affects more than 17 million Americans and costs nearly $200 billion annually. The USC School of Pharmacy is at the forefront of efforts to understand the neurochemical basis of brain function and behavior that is crucial to the development of new approaches to prevent and treat alcoholism, drug abuse and psychological disorders.
The biotechnology team focuses on drug design, development and delivery, working toward breakthroughs that will transform tomorrow’s medicine by generating new drug compounds for diagnostic and therapeutic use.
